Thread: "That's the least I can do"

I gotta say, most of these translations miss the point. When I say "that's the least I can do" I mean "that's the least I can do"... I don't mean "не за что" and such. I guess in Russian you don't have a direct equivalent, but when I say "that's the least I can do" I'm actually sending a subtle message-- I want the other person to know that I'm willing to or should do more for him but I either can't because of certain constraints or I'm simply waiting for him to give me instructions of how I can help him more. That's what I mean by that.

That's why I like the version of "Да ладно! Это меньшее, что я могу делать"

Just one point of curiosity.... how do you pronounce меньшее? men-shee-ye?

Originally Posted by Valda

...Just one point of curiosity.... how do you pronounce меньшее? men-shee-ye?

http://masterrussian.net/f52/%D1%80%...tml#post191807

Originally Posted by Valda

I gotta say, most of these translations miss the point. When I say "that's the least I can do" I mean "that's the least I can do"... I don't mean "не за что" and such. I guess in Russian you don't have a direct equivalent, but when I say "that's the least I can do" I'm actually sending a subtle message-- I want the other person to know that I'm willing to or should do more for him but I either can't because of certain constraints or I'm simply waiting for him to give me instructions of how I can help him more. That's what I mean by that.

It's just the expression in English "it's the least I can do" is a polite of saying don't worry about it, it was nothing.

The translation above of what you really wanted to say doesn't seem so subtle in Russian as it does in English, at least to me But I'm sure now we'll get a plethora of corrections